Pastor and preacher An Yankui of Taiyuan Xuncheng Reformed Church taken from home by Taiyuan Public Security Bureau on suspicion of “organizing illegal religious activities”

(Rights Defense Network Information Center report) On September 29, 2026, this website learned that Taiyuan Xuncheng Reformed Church issued a notice on September 29, 2026: At around 10:30 this morning, preacher An Yankui, a pastor at Taiyuan Xuncheng Reformed Church, was taken from his home by the Taiyuan Public Security Bureau on suspicion of “organizing illegal religious activities.” May the Lord keep him safe and bring him home!

Profile of An Yankui: Born on November 28, 1978, he is from Xicheng Township, Wenshui County, Shanxi Province, and lives in the Pingyang Jingyuan residential compound in Xiaodian District, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province. He is a Christian, a clergyman with the Reformed Gospel Church, a preacher at “Xuncheng Church” in the ancient town of Gu County, Jinyuan District, Taiyuan, and a prisoner of conscience detained in China.

He became a Christian through his devout faith in Jesus Christ and serves as a preacher at Xuncheng Church in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province (“Xuncheng” means “City of God”). Because his church is a house church and refuses to accept the jurisdiction of the “Three-Self” churches recognized by the Chinese Communist authorities, both he and his church have been subjected to surveillance and harassment by the authorities. At the end of January 2020, he traveled with six other clergy members from Xuncheng Church—Zhang Chenghao, Zhang Ligong, Zhang Yaowen, Wang Runyun, Wang Shiqiang, and Song Shoushan—to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, to attend the “2020 Gospel and Culture Conference,” organized by Pastor Stephen Tong (a well-known Chinese Christian evangelist and theologian). Although he had a valid passport and visa at the time and passed through customs without incident, and had committed no unlawful acts, this drew the authorities’ close attention and heightened scrutiny. Also, because he and the other members of his church refused to take part in worship services managed and led by “Three-Self” churches recognized by the Chinese Communist authorities, on November 15, 2020, while the church was holding a Sunday worship service, it was suddenly raided without cause by the Taiyuan Armed Police and local police from the police station. He, his wife, and five other Christians who had taken photographs with their mobile phones were taken to the police station for questioning, then handcuffed and transferred elsewhere for further questioning and the taking of statements; they were not released until 10 p.m. that night. On December 31, 2020, Xiaodian District police in Taiyuan administratively detained him for 15 days and fined him 1,000 yuan for “organizing illegal religious activities.” On July 28, 2021, Jinyuan District police in Taiyuan criminally detained him on suspicion of “illegally crossing the national border,” after which he was released on bail pending trial. On November 22 of the same year, Fenyang City police in Shanxi Province again criminally detained him on suspicion of “illegally crossing the national border.” He was part of the same case as Zhang Chenghao, a fellow church worker at Xuncheng Church, and was held at Wanshan County Detention Center. On December 28 of the same year, he was formally arrested. On June 16, 2022, his case was transferred by the Fenyang City Procuratorate to the Fenyang City Court. On August 5 of the same year, he was tried in a closed hearing by the Fenyang City Court. On November 3, he was finally sentenced to one year in prison for “illegally crossing the national border” and fined 5,000 yuan. His sentence ran through November 21, 2022. Before that, he had been held at the Xiaoyi City Detention Center in Fenyang.